Retaining device for garment-supporters.



E, W. HAWLEY.

RETAINING DEVICE FOR GARMENT SUPPORTEHS.

APPLlcATloN min Auml. isis.

l 1 78,9 l 9 v Patented Apr. 11,`Y 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Arroba/5y THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH co., WASHINGTON. D. c.

nains EUGENE W. HAWLEY, or PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

RETAINING DEVICE FOR GARMENT-SUPPORTERS.

invasie.'

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. ii, isis. i

Application filed August 17, 1915. Serial No. 45,868.

. following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form. a part of this specification.

In wardrobe trunks, as is well known,y

there are usually provided extensible supporter rods extending forward from the rear wall of the uprighttrunlr, and extending between and resting upon these rods are hangers upon which the garmentsV are hung. v

These hangers are slidable upon the rods of the supporter so as to permit access to the garment hung upon any one of them without lifting the remaining hangers Vand their suspended garments from the rods.

lt is rarely that a wardrobe trunk is filled to its capacity, but it is desirable that the garments shall be pressed closely together so as to avoid sliding back and forth during transportation. Even when the trunk is quite full, the garments are held in close relationship only at their upperv end portions, the lower parts of the garments being swingable freely back and forth. It is therefore desirable to provide a device by means of which all the garments in the trunk, whether they are few or many, may beheld pressed firmly together throughout substantially their length and the mass of garments held against the rear of the tru-nk so that the garments may have little or no movement relatively to eachother or to the trunk.

In the accompanying drawings,A which show a preferred embodiment of an invention adapted to perform this function,-

Figure l is a perspective view'of the same` applied to a wardrobe trunk.` Fig. 2 is a perspective view, partly in section, of one end of the main cross-bar of the retaining frame, the guide and ratchet bar and the locking pawl. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the guide and ratchet bar at one side. Fig. 4L is an inside rear view of the same. Fig. 5

is a front view, partly broken away, of one end of the main cross-bar and locking pawl.

To the trunk a is applied a garment supporter of any kind. My retaining device being adapted to coperate with any form of .sup orter, the latter need not be described in etail and vI have thereforel shown a simplified supporter comprising two fixed tubes b secured to the rear wall of the trunk andv extendingparallel and close to the opposite end walls, and two rods ck telescopically engaging the tubesb, whereby the supporteijis renderedA extensible. Garment hangers d extend between and rest upon the two supporting members. Upon the hangers Z the garments are suspended.

Extending horizontally along Yeach side wall ofthe trunk, a substantial distance below the supporter and hanger, isa guide bar e having at opposite ends feet e which are riveted to the trunk wall and hold the bar fixed to and spaced therefrom." Extending between and secured to the feet ofy each guide bar is a ratchet barV f, which may be made of iron, steel, or vulcanized fiber.

A retaining frame is showny asfcomposed of la metallic cross bar g and five wooden sti-ips. Three of the strips, t, extend at right angles tothe bar g andare secured connect respectively'the upper and lower ends of the stripsv l The cross-bary g is madeof a metal plate bentv upon itself and is therefore of inverted U-shape in cross section. Each end of the bar g` is cut away at la to provide a recess to embrace the guide-bar e and also to afford a spaceA to clear the ratchet bar f. The feet e" are narrower than the guidebarse so that the retaining frame may be lapplied to the guide bars c by slipping the'cross bar onto the ends thereof. l .Y A

Pivoted between its ends near each end, and near the lower edge, Iof the cross bar g isa lever m,V the outer shorter end whereof is cut away to approximately conform tothe which is beveled to lit the teeth of themy ratchet bar f. rlhe opposite longer end o the lever m extends normally below the lower edge of the cross-bar g and is held in that position by a spring o confined between the walls of the cross-bar. rlhe spring o is a single piece of wire bent in the shape of a bow, one end of which rests against the closed edge of the bar g while the other end extends into a recess in the lever m. The spring 0 normally holds the lever m in the position shown in Fig.

The retaining frame is slipped onto the ends of the guide bars e as above described and may then be pushed toward the rear wall of the trunk until its movement is arrestedby the garments suspended from the hangers. luring this movement the pawls n clicky along the teeth of the ratchets f, the springs o causing the pawl levers m to engage 'the successive ratchet teeth so that the retaining frame will remain locked in the position to which it is pushed and cannot be withdrawn without previously pressing up the long ends of the levers m. Of course, in the rearward sliding movement of the frame, the long ends of the levers m may be lifted and the frame pushed back noiselessly. After the frame is in retaining position it is as securely locked therein as if it were an integral part of the trunk.

rllhe sliding it of the cross bar g on the guide bars e is not so neat as to prevent a limited swinging movement ofv the retaining frame upon the guide bars, and therefore the retaining frame, when pushed home with force applied to top and bottom, will naturally assume the inclined position shown in Figs l and 2, thus holding the garments tightly in place near their lower edges as well as at their upper portions. The release of the garments and the withdrawal and removal of the retaining frame are readily eiected by taking hold of the frame with both hands in such position that the long ends of the levers m are held upraised while the frame is moved out.

Having now fully described my invention, what l claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

l. A retaining device for use in connection with garment supporters comprising a horizontal rearwardly-extending side guidebar, a transverselyextending retaining frame, said frame including a horizontal cross-bar having parallel walls spaced apart, opposing parts of said walls being cut away at the end of the bar to form a hooked portion extending back of, and embracing, one edge of the guide bar, a ratchet extending along the rear of the guide-bar, and a spring-pressed pawl lever pivoted on the retaining frame and extending between said walls and provided with a hooked end embracing the other edge of the guide-bar and ngaglng said ratchet.

2. A retaining device for use in connection witligarment supporters, comprising a side guide bar, a retaining frame, slidable along the guide bar, a ratchet extending along the guide bar, a pawl lever pivoted on the retaining frame and extending parallel therewith, and a spring normally holding the pawl lever in position to cause the saine to operatively engage the ratchet and a part thereof to project beyond one edge of the retaining frame, thereby enabling the retaining frame to be unlocked by merely grasping the same at the place of projection of the pawl lever. l

3. A retaining device for use in connection with garment supporters, comprising a side ratchet bar, a retaining frame slidable along said bar, said frame including a cross-bar having parallel walls spaced apart, a pawl leverl extending between the Awalls of the cross bar and pivoted thereto and having a manually operable end projecting beyond the open longitudinal edge oic the cross-bar, and a spring normally holding said pawl lever in operative engagement with the ratchet bar.

4. A retaining device for use in connection with garment supporters, comprising a side ratchet bar, a retaining frame slidable along said bar, said frame including a cross-bar having parallel walls spaced apart, a pawl lever extending between the walls of the cross bar and pivoted thereto and having a manually operable end projecting beyond the open longitudinal edge of the cross-bar, and a bow shaped wire spring extending between said lever and the closed longitudinal edge of the cross-bar and normally holding said lever in operative relation with the ratchet bar.

5. A retaining device for use in connection with garment supporters, comprising side guide bars, feet extending from the ends of each guide bar at right angles thereto and thence bent parallel thereto, whereby the guide bar may be held in fixed relation to the side wall of a trunk and spaced therefrom, a ratchet bar extending parallel to each guide bar and secured thereto, a cross-bar U-shaped in cross section and cut away at each end to embrace a longitudinal edge of the corresponding guide bar, a lever pivoted between its ends near each end of, and near the open longitudinal edge of, the cross-bar and extending between the walls thereof, a pawl on the short end of each lever, the front foot of each guide bar being sufficiently narrower than the guide bar to allow the cross bar to slip endwise on and off the saine, a bow-shaped wire spring within the cross bar at each end thereof, one end of which spring rests against the the corresponding ratchet bar and holding hereunto. set my hand, at Philadelphia, on

closed edge of the cross bar While the other Y the cross-bar, and other strips extending end thereof extends into an orice in the parallel to the cross-barand secured to the 10 corresponding paWl lever, thereby normally first strips.

holding its pawl in operative relation with In testimony of which invention I have its long end projected beyond the open lonthis 9th`day of August, 1915. gitudinal edge of the cross-bar, strips secured to and extending .at right angles to EUGENE W. HAWLEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of latents,

' Washington, D. G. 

